A Greybull town councilman was arrested last week on charges of possessing and selling child pornography in exchange for Bitcoin.
David Bernard was arrested Friday and charged with seven counts of possession with intent to deliver and seven counts of delivery.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed with the circuit court of Big Horn County in support of Bernard’s arrest, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation received a tip in December from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that the user of a messaging program called Kik had uploaded 85 video files of apparent child pornography.
According to the affidavit, the investigator in the case “observed the files all depicted prepubescent females engaged in sexual acts with adult men.”
Investigators identified the user of the program as Bernard, the affidavit said, and search warrants were obtained for Bernard and his home.
When speaking with investigators, Bernard admitted to possessing and distributing child pornography, using his cell phone to sell the digital files at a cost of $100 for 10. He told investigators he obtained the files from Kik and would sell them for the digital currency Bitcoin.
According to the town of Greybull’s website, Bernard began serving with the town council on Jan. 1, 2021, and his term is to continue through 2024. He is one of five council members.
Mayor Myles Foley confirmed the arrest and referred Cowboy State Daily to the circuit court and county attorney for details surrounding Bernard’s arrest.
Councilman Jeromy Winkler had also been told about the arrest of his colleague a few days earlier but said he hadn’t been told any of the circumstances and expressed surprise at the nature of the charges.
“He did not seem like that kind of person,” Winkler said. “He was always a very professional person. A very nice person.”
